Summer in Tokyo was always so hot, Natsume knew. But he barely noticed it as cold sweat continued to drip, almost drenching his light shirt. Or rather, he was too preoccupied at the moment to notice. It was always, always like this. With a shaky sigh, he stopped in his tracks. "I keep telling you… GET AWAY FROM ME!"

The people around him looked at the strange boy, some in concern or worry, others in slight offense. But Natsume no longer paid attention to them as he ran as fast as he could, slipping through the crowd. After all, they didn't see – couldn't see – the monster chasing after him. And it was a particularly gruesome one at that, with its black slimy body oozing closer to him, its one giant eye staring unblinkingly at its prey. At him.

They couldn't see it, and maybe even refused to see it. But Natsume could.

Everyday, he was always haunted by these… things. Why? Why did he have to go through all this?

Then, Natsume felt something grip his foot, and fell onto the concrete floor. He tried to get right back up, but the black ooze on his leg only gripped tighter. This was bad. The slime began to ooze around him, trapping him. At this rate, he was going to be eaten. The boy flailed his arms vigorously, kicking wildly to get himself free, but the monster only loomed closer and closer to him, engulfing him slowly.

He wanted to shout desperately for help, but the monster wouldn't even let him open his mouth. Someone had to be by this road, there had to be! Someone, anyone, please…

Faintly, Natsume felt something like wood touch his fingers, and almost immediately, the monster disappeared. He laid there on the ground for what felt like hours, still shaken by his narrow escape from being eaten. Somehow, he was able to escape. He was still alive. He took deep breaths to calm his still rapidly-beating heart. With one last exhale, he finally looked at what he felt earlier.

It was a wooden beam, one among many that fenced a peculiar-looking house. As he stood back up, he felt himself drawn to the strange house. The house looked western, except there were also traditional sliding doors on one side of it facing the front yard. Natsume didn't realize that he had walked towards the front doors as he looked until they opened.

"Welcome!" the girl with short pink hair said.

"Welcome!" the girl with long blue hair said.

"Umm," Natsume started. "I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to walk in…" The two girls merely smiled at him.

"Please come in!" the girl with pink hair giggled, taking him inside the house by one hand.

"Please come in!" the girl with blue hair chirped, taking him by the other hand, leading them to a room down the hallway.

"W-Wait a minute!" Natsume protested, quickly kicking his shoes out the doorway just in time before stepping in. "I'm not supposed to be in here! I…"

I may not be wanted here…

"Then your coming here is an act of hitsuzen."

Natsume blinked, stopping right before the sliding doors of a room that smelled of incense. Hitsuzen…?

The two girls slid the doors open, and revealed a man smiling at him from where he sat. The man, looking both young and old, wore a light kimono with designs of wispy smoke (or was that the smoke from the incense?) and a beautiful long-tailed bird perched on a cherry branch. Behind round spectacles, gold and blue eyes gazed almost expectantly at him. "Welcome, child. Please, have a seat."

The boy squared his shoulders for a moment before entering the room and occupying the seat right across the man. On the table before them were cups of tea for each of them. The tea was still steaming hot, so it must have only been prepared moments ago. Natsume squirmed in his seat slightly. "Umm…"

"You looked confused," the man offered with a smile. "Tell me what questions you have in mind."

Natsume only stared eagerly at his tea, now more embarrassed to meet the man in the eye. "Um, j-just now… you said 'hitsuzen'… What is, I mean…"

"It means something that is bound to happen. For example, when you entered my shop, it wasn't mere coincidence. You were meant to be here."

At that, the boy looked up. Meant to be here… "…In your shop?"

"Yes." The man smiled warmly at him, without an ounce of enforced politeness that Natsume was so used to see. He smiled back, if ever so slightly.

Then, he had a thought. "So… what kind of shop… is this?"

The man's eyes looked glazed, and the wisps of smoke in his kimono appeared to have moved along with the incense smoke. "This is a shop that can grant wishes."

"W-wishes?"

The man nodded. "If it is within my power and if you, the customer, can pay the appropriate price."

Natsume felt like he had been doused with cold water. He looked away. "I… don't have any money with me…"

But the man only shook his head. "Money is not the only form of payment, not that any of it can really amount to an equal exchange. No, the price must be equivalent to the weight of the wish for balance to be maintained." The man smiled at him again. "So, what is your wish?"

He clenched his hands, gripping onto his shorts tightly. "I-I…" He paused. Many things came into mind – to be rid of the things that haunt him, to no longer be called a liar, to really belong somewhere, to have something he could call a family, a home, or even… But could he pay the price for any of them? What could he possibly give in exchange? Or perhaps he was being too selfish? He gripped onto his shorts tighter.

He felt a warm hand touch his shoulder. The boy looked up, and met the man's soft gaze. "You do not need to push yourself. There is no need to tell me your wish now. You may return to my shop when you are ready."

"R-Really?"

"Of course!" the man said with that gentle smile, and it was all he could do from drowning in the moment happiness that was allowed to him. To be able to return to a place where he was welcome…

But Natsume never came back to the shop. The very next day, he had moved to another family who does not know him, another house that he cannot call his home.

Seven years later, he wonders if that fateful day had even happened. He stares thoughtfully at the passing clouds as summer comes into the countryside once again. "Was it all just a dream?" he whispers to the wind.

"Hm? What are you mumbling about, Natsume?" Nyanko-sensei says as they take a walk on the dirt road, the hook on the leash clinking in time to their pace.

"Eh?" Sensei heard that? That was a little embarrassing. "N-No, it's nothing." Yes, it must have only been nothing but a child's imagination. Still… That shop had a strange otherworldly feel to it, now that he thinks more about it. He glances at Nyanko-sensei.

"Say, sensei?"

"What is it now?"

"Do you know of a shop that grants wishes?"

The cat stops, and Natsume just barely avoids tripping over him. Why did he suddenly just stop like that? That was dangerous. "Nyanko-sensei?"

The spirit in question looks back at the boy with narrowed eyes. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

Natsume blinks. "…I suddenly remembered visiting a shop like it once when I was a child. But…"

"But?"

He frowns. "…It's a distant memory. I barely remember it even happening…" He only remembers it all vaguely, barely recalling even the outside appearance of the strange shop. Only the shop owner's warm smile remains clear in his mind.

Nyanko-sensei takes the moment to stretch and yawn. "Ahh, is that all? Well, one can say that there was such a shop. Still, one can also that there wasn't. That shop has always been different from other places. Even noble creatures such as myself cannot get inside so easily. Coincidentally though, many lesser beings do end up finding their way into the place."

Natsume's eyes widen, suddenly remembering the shop owner's words. "No, not a coincidence…"

Nyanko-sensei gazes at the boy for a moment before letting out a grunt. "Well, whatever! It really doesn't concern me," the cat dismisses the matter as he presumes their walk, pulling Natsume forward with the leash. Then, his expression turns dreamy, if a little sly. "Mm, although I hear that the treats they serve are a rarity in itself."

"Sensei, how could you only think of food? This is why we're trying to slim you down with exercise. Although, we may have to cut down on your food portions now too."

"Haah? What did you say? You wouldn't dare!"

As the pair continue to argue, a long-tailed bird peers at them as it lays perched on a tree branch. It chirps at the sight before taking to the sky.

A/N: This was a crossover that was meant to be written, I couldn't help myself! Writing in Natsume's perspective was a bit of a challenge, but it was also a fun learning experience! I hope you have enjoyed reading just as much as I have enjoyed feeding this plot bunny~